Operation: Catching Air
by Dapper Monk
Summary: Somewhere in the woods, lies a box on a stump. In this box lies a simple key. This key unlocks the door to the most successful and dangerous future anyone could have. Language. AU.


Disclaimer: The Legend of Korra belongs to Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino. I do not own any of this; this is purely fan fiction and is made for entertainment only.

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Operation: Catching Air

Korra Nanuk inhaled the distinctive scent of fresh soil as she stepped forward into the forest. She was not afraid of anything, and with confidence she continued to stroll through the wilderness.

Her lithe body easily stepped over fallen logs and holes in the ground. This task would be a piece of cake. Korra was in peak physical condition; her personal trainer made sure of that.

Yeah she had a personal trainer, so what? Her family was wealthy. Korra was the prized only child of a building material empire. She was spoiled, short-tempered, confident, and fearless.

Back to the task at hand. Korra unfurled her fist, which was clenched around a rumpled picture. It was a simple photo of a small brown box on a tree stump, in the middle of the woods. Easy enough to find.

Korra went from a walking pace to a job as the forest seemed to clear up. The only noise was the crunch of leaves under her feet.

Any observant person would have noticed there were no birds, no squirrels, no animals of any kind running about in the forest. However Korra was too dead-set on her goal to notice anything else.

She checked the picture again, looking for clues. It looked like a regular forest, vines wrapped around a tree here and there, a small creek in the background. The stump itself was only a foot or two high, free of any sort of overgrown. Korra looked around desperately. This stump could be anywhere...

Time was a factor; Korra knew that. But the forest was a square mile, so there was a lot of ground to cover.

A quick shift in nearby bushes immediately drew Korra's attention.

"Hello?" she whispered in the direction of the movement. There was no reply.

"Hello," Korra repeated louder, growing bolder. There was another rustle in the brush; this time Korra could make out a dark figure crouching.

Of course They would send someone after her; competition for the box. Korra crouched as well, moving ever so close to the figure.

"Ah!" Korra shouted in surprise as the figure leaped for her. Their bodies met in a crash, each one wrestling for control.

The figure was obviously a male, his face concealed by a black cloth mask. His body was protected by some kind of dark fabric and a thick vest. It was much more protective than the thin nylon suit Korra was wearing.

Korra struggled against her assailant, who was trying to pin her arms against the ground. She struck her palm against his shoulder, knocking back his arm a few inches. That gave her enough time to slam her other hand into her opponent's neck.

He reeled back, stunned by the blow. Korra quickly punched him twice in the gut, shifting out from under him. She popped up on her feet in a fighting stance, ready to defend herself.

The masked man waited in a defensive stance for her to throw the first punch. Korra took the bait, and tried to hit him with a right hook. The man easily caught her fist and twisted her arm back, breaking her stance. A clean leg swipe brought her to the ground.

Korra groaned as her body impacted the hard ground. Yeah, that's going to bruise.

The assailant waited for her to rise, ready to defend off another attack. With an outstretched hand, he taunted her to continue.

Korra threw a right hook again. The man grabbed her hand again, but this time Korra had planned on it. She jerked her right arm towards her body, and struck her opponent solidly in the face with her other fist.

He reeled back, clutching his face. Korra whipped her head left and right, looking for an escape. Suddenly, she saw it. The box, resting on a stump.

"Yes!" she cheered.

Korra wasted no time in jumping to her left, where the ground sloped down steeply to a creek, and rose up again at a sharp angle. Up on top of that other hill, across the stream, rested the key to her success.

Korra jumped from segment to segment of flat land. She perched on fallen logs and rocky ledges, made slippery by fallen leaves.

She made it to about ten feet away from the creek, where a tall rock ledge cut her off. Her could hear the fast roar of the water, looking at the water. It was only a good few meters wide, but very shallow. The large jump separated any chance of landing in the water. Jumping down off the ledge would surely result in some sort of leg injury, but hell, what other choice did Korra have?

As she bent down to reduce the height of her jump, a loud crack rang throughout her ears. Korra jumped, feeling a shot of pain in her thigh. The jarring impact of landing on the ground then followed.

"Shit," Korra cursed.

Her right thigh felt like someone had slammed it with a baseball bat, and that right ankle wasn't feeling all too sturdy either. It had absorbed more of the impact.

Korra landed in the shadow of the stone ledge, unable to see her assailant. Having no choice, she darted forward across the stream.

Korra jumped halfway into the stream. The water rose halfway up her leg, soaking the fabric up to her knee. Korra's injured leg trailed behind as she scrambled through the water.

Korra glanced down at her reflection as she waded through the river. It was chopped up by the rocks, but undeniably her.

Mocha skin, bright blue eyes, and dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. But now her hair was messy and knotted, dirt streaked her face. A small welt was forming on her jawline, from when she had fallen. She looked frantic and scrappy, not like the confident girl who had walked into these woods minutes ago.

Once Korra was free of the water's pull, she jumped onto dry land. She darted forward, weaving in and out of the trees growing on the steep inline.

Roughly twenty feet up the tall hill, Korra heard another crack. She slammed her back against a thick tree, out of her assailant's view.

"Damn," Korra panted heavily. She examined her leg, slowly sliding down the back of the tree. The rough bark scratched through her nylon suit, stinging her back.

The outside of her right thigh was covered in a dark red liquid. A small hole had been ripped into her pants.

"That bastard shot me," Korra exclaimed in disbelief. Surely, They wouldn't have shot her?

With a shaky hand, Korra tried to rip the hole more, to see the wound. There was a huge purple and green welt forming on her skin.

Korra poked it experimentally.

She hissed at the jolt of pain it sent across her skin.

"Where's the wound?" Korra asked herself. All that blood had to come from somewhere.

She glanced out from behind the tree, trying to gage how much time she had left. The masked man was midway through the creek. Korra estimated she had about a minute left.

Without ceremony, Korra ripped off her left sleeve and tied it around her leg as a bandage. Even though she couldn't see the wound, it was a good idea to prevent more blood loss.

Korra pushed herself up and began climbing the hill. She used branches to help pull herself up; leaping up the hill. She could hear the swish of leaves being scattered as her assailant pursued her.

Korra finally reached the peak of the hill. She was out of breath, her muscles protesting every move. She grabbed a root of a tree.

"Rah!" Korra grunted, throwing herself onto the flat top of the hill.

Korra moaned as she slowly lifted her beaten body off the ground, covered in dirt and leaves. There, mere feet in front of her, rested the box.

It seemed almost ironic that a single beam of light shone through the trees onto the stump. Korra limped over to the stump, forgetting about her pursuer.

The box itself was very light, made of an old wood, and roughly the size of a loaf of bread. It rattled as if there was a small metal object inside, but nothing else.

Korra tucked it into her left arm, making a fist with the other. She moved into a fighting stance, ready to make her stand.

A moment later, her assailant's black head came into view. He was coming.

An electronic beeping noise distracted Korra, drawing her attention to the thin metal bracelet around her left wrist. It was all silver, with a small square light.

The light had been red when she had first begun to journey into the woods. Now it glowed a bright green.

"What?" Korra wondered. She wasn't even sure what the bracelet was for; They had just given it to her.

Korra glanced back at her pursuer, who was now calmly on his feet in a ready stance. He seemed slightly hesitant to approach her though, as if he was unsure what to do.

Suddenly, a high pitched whine emanated from the bracelet of Korra's wrist. The green light now glowed a bright white. Her vision went blurry in a second, and Korra found it difficult to stand.

Her body thudded the ground, landing protectively around the box.

"No," Korra whispered.

Then everything went black.

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I apologize for the lack of dialogue. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out.

I'm not entirely sure what to call this. It's like a one-shot that I'm going to explain and expand upon as soon as I find time. Sorry for the wait ahead of time.

- Dapper


End file.
